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Lara sets Red Stripe record with unbeaten 185

West Indies' gifted batsman Brian Lara sent a warning to England's touring cricketers with a majestic 185 not out on Friday that set a run record for the Red Stripe Cup. Lara, whose innings lifted Trinidad and Tobago to 366 for three at the close on the first day against Barbados, beat test team mate Desmond Haynes's record Cup aggregate for a season of 654. Trinidad captain Lara, who started the four-day game needing to score 146 to pass Haynes's tally, batted for 285 minutes, faced 251 balls and struck 23 boundaries. Lara and Keno Mason (56 not out) shared an unbroken 195-run fourth-wicket record partnership which beat Trinidad and Tobago's previous best of 175 between brothers Brian and Charlie Davis in 1970. Lara's timely display of form comes 15 days before the first test of the five-match series against England, starting in Kingston, Jamaica, on February 19.